The Background: I’m not sure I have ever mentioned this, but I have strong opinions about what I eat. I switched to the Paleo Diet in 2006 and added low-carb to it a couple of years after that. The benefits I have experienced from this switch could take up an entire post. “Eat this way!” is at the top of the list of things I would tell my 18 year old self if I could go back in time.

I will admit that I have not been completely faithful, because you do not walk away from decades of consuming something more addictive than cocaine overnight. I struggle. I fall and get up again. But I have no doubts. Like Gary Taubes says, “Just because it took me 19 years to give up smoking doesn’t mean the body ‘needs’ cigarettes.”

The Discovery: So there I was, Low-Carb Paleo True Believer, running down the street while listening to podcasts, and I hear this guy, Vinnie Tortorich being interviewed. To be honest, my first reaction was not positive. His macho-Italian voice made me think unkind thoughts. But everything he said was brilliant and I soon shed the prejudice.

Another day, another run, another interview on a different podcast I like – there he is again! This time I’m listening well right from the start… more good advice and sound reasoning. Now, I spend a lot of hours running (yes, without sugar), and I am always interested in new books or podcasts to occupy my mind. That afternoon I subscribed to Vinnie’s podcast and downloaded a number of the older episodes as well.

Before I continue, if you are sensitive to bad language, crude and vulgar jokes or you’re just easily offended in general, this is not a show you will enjoy. Or a blog post for that matter. Don’t apologize; I respect your sensibilities and often feel that way myself. Stick with Jimmy Moore or Robb Wolf and you will get a lot of the same information without the hot sauce.

I often want to swear and tell people off myself. But I was raised to be a lady. By the way, it is said that one of the foulest mouths belonged to one of the world’s finest harpists ever, Alice Chalifoux. I sat across from her during lunch at a conference once and heard her refer to a group of people as “those bastards.” Mild, for her I’m told. She was in her 80s at the time.

Getting mad: Vinnie (may I call you Vinnie, Mr. Tortorich?) is “American’s Angriest Trainer.” He calls himself that because “your good intentions have been stolen from you.” So true. Ask me about an entire year spent being hungry every day on Weight Watchers, long ago. Or the fat I gained trying to eat like Ornish. Or the “cheat foods” I tried to work off by running. I had good intentions too.

Vinnie rants a lot. Honestly, I love the rants… Biggest Loser starvation nonsense, clueless “trainers” at gyms, the tip jars at Starbucks, and whatever pisses him off — I love it. The INTJ in me craves truth and justice, and I sometimes wish I could say “go fuck yourself!” like Vinnie does, but for the aforementioned lady-like upbringing. Vicarious venting, that’s what it is.

Anna: Anna Vocino, Vinnie’s cohost, gets me laughing so hard with her vocal impressions (she does a great Paula Deen). She contributes in so many ways, keeps Vinnie on track (or tries to), and looks up information on the fly during their discussions. And how cool is it that her name is “Vocino?” Doesn’t that mean “shout” in Italian? Go, Anna!

Content: Vinnie knows his stuff — except for the moments when Anna has to look it up. Just kidding – he is a well-educated man and has decades of experience coaching people. But unlike 99.9% of the coaches you meet, he questioned the low-fat, low-calorie paradigm, that monster born of the McGovern commission’s decision to put wheat profits above human health in the early 70s. Vinnie was taught that dogma, but he eventually questioned it, and he embraced an unpopular truth – with bared teeth. There is a great value in the polite, scientific voices you will see in my bibliography, but Vinnie is the first bulldog, in-your-face, you-wanna-piece-of-me? warrior for the cause. Bravo.

By the way, if you are scratching your head over that reference to McGovern, take a moment to watch this:

Here are some of the things you will learn about on Vinnie’s show. If you just want read about these things without the vitriol, see the bibliography at the end of this post.

Successful weight loss will come from 95% diet, 5% exercise.

Avoid sugar and avoid grains. (Personally I also avoid potatoes, legumes and other high-carb foods, but most people will experience a dramatic change in their health if they only do these 2 things.)

“Put life into living.” Occasion treats will not harm you if they are really occasional. Total deprivation doesn’t work well for most people.

You cannot undo the damage of whack-load of sugar with an hour or two at the gym. Hormones (insulin, leptin, ghrelin) rule.

Cutting carbs is important, but what people really have a hard time accepting is increasing the fat in their diets. Not seed oils. Olive oil and saturated fat (especially from pastured animals) are good for you. The cholesterol theory of heart disease is founded on politics and economics, not science.

There are no fitness shortcuts. No gadgets, no 20-min-a-week programs, no pills that will make a lasting difference to your fitness.

Sometimes people aren’t right about fitness. They just seem right because they are young, or “naturally thin.” Ask yourself whom they have helped and how long the help lasted.

There are right and wrong reasons to exercise. Which reason you choose is going to determine your success.

A very small percentage of the population can sustain an extremely-low-calorie diet for life. Very small.

Connections: Vinnie, on the off chance you ever read this, I want to explain the real reason I love your show (besides the ranting) and eventually came to feel like you were a close personal friend: connections. (Yes, more bullet points!)

Los Angeles – I love hearing you mention places in LA, around where I grew up. Not that I ever want to live there again!

You are an endurance athlete. I’m not sure if you know this, but among the Paleo-diet crowd there is sometimes a bit of an anti-cardio attitude. They call it “chronic cardio” and blame various health issues on running, while completely ignoring the fact that the running culture is a sugar culture. Although you are not advocating the Paleo diet, what you say is pretty close, and I am always so happy to see those two worlds “collide.”

You are over 50! I am over 50! [Insert secret handshake here.] How many role models can I look to for inspiration, when it comes to staying fit and feeling younger than my years? Damn few.

Ok, this one is just jaw dropping to me. You talked about Dr. Sarno’s book on your show. Nobody talks about Dr. Sarno! I even stopped mentioning him to people because I got tired of being unjustly pitied as some kind of quack-follower. Someday I’m going to write a blog post about my experience with TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome), but for now let me just say that this information saved my running and changed my life. It is real and true. I am living proof.

You are friends with Genie Francis! No, I am not also friends with Genie Francis. But long ago, for a short time in my life, I was her double. I lived in West Hollywood, and I could not go anywhere without someone asking me for an autograph. In spite of repeated correction, the two elderly Russian women next door ambushed me almost every time I came out of my apartment. They would take my hands and pat them and gaze at me, smiling, muttering to each other in Russian. “I’m not Genie Francis.” “Yah, yah…”

Here are some pictures. You be the judge. And tell Genie “Hi” from me.

Almost forgot the promised bibliography! I have decided to borrow one, which you will find here, because 1) it has a lot of the books I would have listed, and 2) he has a really cool site you ought to see. Update, December 2016… I see my link no longer works. I have written a new bibliography in this 2016 blog post which you will find at the very bottom of the post.